An STX RX-8?! Chiketkd's 2010 STX thread!!!

[Chiketkd]

My 2010 STX set-up is listed below. Details of individual mods to come later...

Model: 2006 6MT RX-8 base (sport package)

Suspension:

Bilstein PSS9 coilovers
Hotchkis 27mm MX-5 FSB (3 way adjustable)
Eibach 16mm MX-5 RSB (2 way adjustable)

Brakes:

OEM pads and rotors

Engine/Exhuast:

RB intake
BHR ignition kit
RB mid-pipe (with Davesport cat and Vibrant 12" resonator added)
Corksport catback

Wheels:

17x9 +45 Enkei RPF1's
255/40/17 Hankook RS-3's (full tread)

Body:

OEM front lip and rear spoiler

Alignment:

Height F 13.5" / R 13.5"
Caster 6.5
Camber F -2.3 / R -2.0
Toe F 0 / R 0

Other:

Optima Red Top Battery

[Chiketkd]

SUSPENSION

Coilovers-
This would be the primary focus of my STX build, and as my funds were limited, I wanted to get the best coilovers available for under 2K. Even better, would be to find a modular type coilover that I could upgrade later as funds allowed.

After speaking with Strano for over an hour one evening and e-mailing Tech Support at various suspension companies, I went with the Bilstein PSS9's. While their single adjustable (adjusts both compression & rebound), Strano had very positive things to say about the quality of their damping, and they could be easily upgraded later to handle stiffer spring rates and even converted to a double adjustable shock.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d14/Chiketkd/Mazda%20RX-8/STX%20Build/BilsteinPSS9-1.jpg

My friend Shawn helped me with the install, and we were done in ~3 hrs.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d14/Chiketkd/Mazda%20RX-8/STX%20Build/BilsteinPSS9installed-front.jpg

These coilovers have 9 adjustment settings for shock damping (1 firmest, 9 softest). The lower springs perch can also be moved up or down to adjust the ride height of the car.

The standard springs rates are kinda soft and will need to be changed in the future:

Front: 340lbs/in (linear)
Rear: 240lbs/in (progressive)

I plan to complete 5-6 events on the stock PSS9 coilovers and then switch out the front springs to some stiffer (400lbs/in) Swift coilover springs which I've already received in the mail.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d14/Chiketkd/Mazda%20RX-8/STX%20Build/Swiftcoiloversprings.jpg

Swaybars-
I kept my 3-way adjustable Hotchkis MX-5 front swaybar:

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d14/Chiketkd/Mazda%20RX-8/STX%20Build/p46009154913.jpg

From the Hotchkis suspension website, the effective spring rate of each of these different settings are as follows:

Softest - 520lbs/in
Middle - 615lbs/in
Firmest - 735lbs/in

I purchased a 2-way adjustable Eibach MX-5 rear swaybar:

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d14/Chiketkd/Mazda%20RX-8/STX%20Build/Miata_MX5_Front_Eibach_Sway_Bar.gif

From calling Eibach directly, I obtained the effective spring rates of the two settings:

Softest - 100lbs/in
Formest - 120lbs/in


ENGINE/EXHAUST

As I wouldn't have the funds to do engine management right away, I decided to get all of my intake and exhaust mods in place, so that when the funds were available, I could get a tune right away.

Intake-
As the stock intake worked well, gains with this upgrade are only minimal (3-4hp/tq). But I was still, looking for a performance increase wherever possible. I went with a Racing Beat intake, which is a company known for quality products in the rotary community.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d14/Chiketkd/Mazda%20RX-8/STX%20Build/RacingBeatintake.jpg

Ignition-
Due to the high revving nature of the engine and the heat the rotary powerplant puts out, this is a weak point on a stock RX-8. Black Halo Racing (BHR) has developed a very reliable ignition kit for the RX-8 using coils from a GMC Yukon.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d14/Chiketkd/Mazda%20RX-8/STX%20Build/BHRIgnitionSystem.jpg

Midpipe-

Gains from a decent highflow cat can be significant in the RX-8, so I wanted to devote a lot of my funds and attention to this area.

I went with a Racing Beat stainless midpipe, Vibrant 12" resonator and an all-metal high-flow cat used on rally cars that run anti-lag.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d14/Chiketkd/Mazda%20RX-8/STX%20Build/P1100162.jpg

I took these exhaust pieces to svxfiles who welded everything up for me and then coated them in some lovely 2,000F thermal resistant exhaust paint.

Here's a pic I snapped as svxfiles was adding some tack welds on the front of the high flow cat.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d14/Chiketkd/Mazda%20RX-8/STX%20Build/1268883278.jpg

Catback-
I kept my Corksport catback from my B-stock days due to it's light-weight and free flowing characteristics:

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d14/Chiketkd/Mazda%20RX-8/STX%20Build/Corksportexhaust.jpg

[Chiketkd]

WHEELS & TIRES

My wheels consideration was quite simple. I wanted the lightest wheel possible that fit within my budget (~1K max). 18x9" wheels were a possibility, but most that were close to my budget weighed in the 19lb range.

My RX-8 could fit 17" wheels, so I decided to go with a set of 15.9lbs Enkei RPF1's in a 17x9 +45 size.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d14/Chiketkd/Mazda%20RX-8/STX%20Build/EnkeiRPF1s.jpg

My tire choice was much more of an agonizing decision. After reading 4-5 different tire comparison articles, and speaking with numerous friends/contacts in the world of autocrossing, I decided to focus on dry performance/grip and go with the new Hankook RS-3's.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d14/Chiketkd/Mazda%20RX-8/STX%20Build/255RS-3s17x9RPF1s.jpg

These are now mounted and ready to go after a trip to the tire store in my wife's new 2010 Lancer Sportback.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d14/Chiketkd/Mazda%20RX-8/STX%20Build/LancerSportbackloadedup.jpg

[Chiketkd]

My 2010 season will now be officially under-way this coming weekend, when my local Blue Ridge Region hosts a Test-n-Tune on Saturday (3/20) and Points event #1 on Sunday (3/21).

Gary Krichbaum, an experienced ESP camaro driver from my region, will be co-driving with me both days.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2504/3981281879_d87695602f.jpg

Gary should be able to offer me invaluable assistance in making some initial suspension adjustments on the car.

[92_LSL]

love the rim choice !:cool:

[Chiketkd]

Thanks! I haven't even had them on my car yet, but that will change by this weekend.

I'll be sure to update this thread with plenty of pics from the T&T and Event #1.

[SilverSpear]

Good luck Chike :)

[Mr. Pockets]

Chike and I have been talking RX8s since we each bought one. I run mine in STX, as well.

I look forward to running in the same class as Chike at a National Tour event. :)

[Chiketkd]

Good luck Chike :)
Thanks Danny. I hope to have many more updates as my season progresses... :cool:
Chike and I have been talking RX8s since we each bought one. I run mine in STX, as well.

I look forward to running in the same class as Chike at a National Tour event. :)
Very true. I'm looking forward to running with you as well Nick.

I'll have to see how my season goes - the Peru NT is still not a definite for me. Might just do local/regional stuff this year until this car is decently sorted (on both asphalt & concrete).

[Sov13t]

Eww. Bolt-Ons Galore. :rolleyes:

[Mr. Pockets]

Eww. Bolt-Ons Galore. :rolleyes:

That's pretty much what the ST* SOLO classes were made for, to attract kids with bolt-on modifications to their cars. It turned out to be pretty fun, and of course if you give any set of rules to competitive people, they'll take it seriously pretty much no matter what those rules say. :)

My RX8 is similarly prepped, with bolt-ons, and it's an awful lot of fun to drive. I'd much rather spend the money on parts and learn how to prepare the car than throw the same amount of money away on tires in a stock class.

[Chiketkd]

Eww. Bolt-Ons Galore. :rolleyes:
LOL. I'll take that as a compliment... ;)

[SVXRide]

Chike,
What were the other two tires in your final 3? Did you consider the "Stars"?
-Bill

[Chiketkd]

Chike,
What were the other two tires in your final 3? Did you consider the "Stars"?
-Bill
Who said I had a final 3? http://www.rx8club.com/images/smilies/dunno.gif

My final choice was actually between the RE-11's and the RS-3's. The RE-11's are good in the dry & the wet, while the RS-3's are an exceptional dry tire and a little more "sketchy" in the wet. In the end, I wanted to have the absolute best dry tire and from my research the RS-3's were the ones for me...

[SVXRide]

Who said I had a final 3? http://www.rx8club.com/images/smilies/dunno.gif

My final choice was actually between the RE-11's and the RS-3's. The RE-11's are good in the dry & the wet, while the RS-3's are an exceptional dry tire and a little more "sketchy" in the wet. In the end, I wanted to have the absolute best dry tire and from my research the RS-3's were the ones for me...

Chike,
I was just going out on a limb and guessing that there were at least 3 tires that were at the top of your list.;) Did you read the tire test that was in Sports Car mag a couple of issues back?
-Bill

[Chiketkd]

Chike,
I was just going out on a limb and guessing that there were at least 3 tires that were at the top of your list.;) Did you read the tire test that was in Sports Car mag a couple of issues back?
-Bill
Yup. That was one of several articles that I read. I chose the tire I felt was best for my driving style and my car's set-up. :)

[92_LSL]

you shoulda got nitto nt05's. i love em'

[Chiketkd]

you shoulda got nitto nt05's. i love em'
They're a great track day tire, but require too much heat to work well in an autocross setting (~60 second runs).

[92_LSL]

you have a point !:D

[Chiketkd]

I did my first event in STX today -- a test & tune held by my local SCCA region. I co-drove with Gary, one of the better drivers in my region, whose previous experience was driving a decently prepped '00 camaro in ESP. Gary and I would typically PAX 3rd or 4th all of last season when I was still in B-stock (always within 1 or 2 places of each other).

Today's event was held at one of my local region's smaller lots, infamous for its bumps and a surface that has quite a bit of gravel in places. Not the best of lots for 2wd cars, and typically an awd car gets top PAX here.

My best time was a 48.204, while Gary got down to a 48.388. Only cars to go faster than us were a decently prepped Street Mod STi on hoosiers (47.9) and an ASP C6 Z06 (47.5). So I was top PAX for the event, while Gary was a close 2nd.

I found the car to be very well-balanced in my straight-out-of-the-box set-up! I had the front and rear shocks set to the middle setting of '5' for the first session. We both felt the front need a little more rebound, so I stiffened the shocks to the setting of '4' for the second session. The car felt even better, so around the end of the session, Gary suggested stiffening it up a little more, so I went to a setting of '3'. The car then picked up some power-on understeer in sweepers but was faster in transitional elements like slaloms. Times were basically the same (car was faster in some areas, slower in others), and when we went back to a setting of '4' in the front, the power-on push was gone once more. FWIW, we kept tire pressures consistent throughout the three sessions, as Technical Support at Hankook Tires was able to give me some good starting pressures to use.

One comment which Gary made that I felt really summed up the performance of these coilovers was that when driving through the bumpy section of the lot, the shocks soaked up these bumps very well w/o unsettling the car. The konis on his former ESP camaro did not.

So two thumbs up all around! :):)

P.S. Tomorrow is Points event #1, and even more solid drivers will be in attendance. I'll see how things go as I'll have 5-6 other drivers in my class (including two WRXs). Gary is running my car in STU (as he wants points in that class since he just bought an E36 M3 that he's prepping for the class).

http://www.subaru-svx.net/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=13477&stc=1&d=1269137865

[Chiketkd]

I did my first points event in STX Sunday with my local SCCA region at the same lot as the Saturday test-n-tune. STX was one of the larger classes with a total of 8 cars including an '89 Civic Si, a co-driven WRX, and a couple of mustangs.

Gary ended up running with me in STX and he went first as my tire warmer. In terms of set-up, we ran pressures of 45F/43R and I went with the shock settings of 4F/5R.

After 1st runs, I was leading with a clean 55.9, while Gary was in 2nd with a 56.3. No one else in the class could match either of these times after 4 runs (closest was the civic si that got down to a 56.6 on his last run). However, Gary dropped his time to a 55.8 (clean), while I lowered mine to a 55.2 (clean). We both had faster runs where each of us just nicked one cone -- Gary had a 55.0+1, while I had a 54.4+1!!!

I finished 2nd in PAX, while Gary was 4th out of 84 drivers. The guy who took top PAX had a number of FTDs/FTPs last season in his decently-prepped Street Mod STi on hoosiers. STX also ran in the 1st heat on this dirty lot, while Street Mod ran later. However, if my 54.4 had been clean, I would have taken FTP... :(

Gary and I had a good talk afterwards about the handling of the car, and we both were in agreement that the car had absolutely no vices today. My set-up felt completely dialed-in for this lot. There was no power-on understeer, the car was very easy to drive at the limit, and the back-end rotated progressively when we wanted it to step out. However, we both felt that the front-end seemed to have a little more compliance/roll than the back-end. From the driver's seat, this felt like the front-end was slower to take a set than the back-end (especially in fast transitions e.g. slaloms). I'm thinking my new stiffer Swift springs will fix this issue, but those will be added after a few more events... ;)

Summary:
1st of 8 in class
2nd of 84 in PAX

Results:
STX - Street Touring X
1t CHIKE DELLIMORE 2006 MAZDA RX-8 55.226 45.838 0.575
2t GARY KRICHBAUM 2006 MAZDA RX8 55.887 0.661 46.386 1.123
3t DAN KIMBER HONDA 56.681 1.455 47.045 1.782
4 DAVID LONNQUEST 2002 SUBARU WRX 58.367 3.141 48.445 3.182
5 STEFFEN CLARK 1984 PLYMOUTH COLT TURBO 59.580 4.354 49.451 4.188
6 DAVID MEYER 02 SUBARU WRX 61.967 6.741 51.433 6.170
7 BRIAN OETERS 2005 FORD MUSTANG 62.083 6.857 51.529 6.266
8 BRENNAN MCCRAY 00 FORD MUSTANG 64.580 9.354 53.601 8.338

Link: http://www.brr-scca.org/20100321.htm

Not many action pics are up yet, but here's two-

Gary
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4044/4451697175_397b2d2bdc.jpg

Myself
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4053/4451694179_b5e5852bb2.jpg

[Chiketkd]

Some more pics...

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4011/4455420917_927e50edc0.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2782/4455405455_3feb1f581d.jpg

I must say I'm very impressed by the amount of shock travel that the Bilstein coilovers have. They really kept the car feeling very composed through the bumpier parts of the lot, and I never lifted an inside wheel (front or rear) on the grippier sections of the lot.

I'll see how she does on the high grip asphalt at Fedex stadium this coming weekend...

[LetItSnow]

Awesome. Stop by at Seneca this summer! I'll be there.

[Chiketkd]

Awesome. Stop by at Seneca this summer! I'll be there.
I doubt I'll be at the Finger Lakes NT this year -- might do the Peru NT instead to see how my set-up does on an all-concrete site.

[Chiketkd]

This past weekend I did the Test & Tune event with the WDCR. STX ran in the last heat of the day under overcast skies with temps in the upper 50's. My Hankook RS-3's need heat to work, so I knew the car would handle a little differently this time around.

The course design was by Lee Piccione and was filled with slaloms and offset gates. There were many cones being called in, and I knew running clean would be an issue.

My first run was okay - I carried too much speed into a couple showcase turns/sweepers, and I hit one cone in the downhill offset gates. My time of 61.6+1 lead the class by over 6 seconds (despite the cone penalty). On my second run I carried more speed in the slaloms, but hit 2 cones in the downhill offset gates. Aargh!!! I improved my raw time to a 61.0+2, but still had to stand on my first run. I had a big slide/semi-spin on my third run and took out a number of cones, and my 65.6+5 was of no help. On my 4th and final run, I went for it, but was a dirty boy - 61.2+5.

So in all, I hit 13 cones in 4 runs, and despite these troubles, I won my class by just over 1 second. If my 61.0 had been clean, I would have finished 26th in PAX. I definitely struggled with the lack of grip, and for the first time had wheelspin on corner exit. The car still handled very predictably, and even when I lost traction, I was able to keep catch the car 9 times out of 10.


Summary:
1st out of 5 in class
64th out of 178 in PAX

Results:
'Street Touring X' - Total Entries: 5 Times Total
1T 90 Chike Dellimore 2006 Mazda Rx-8 Grey 61.616+1 61.076+2 65.603+5 61.219+5 [63.616]
2T 39 Paul Evans 2002 Mini Cooper S Blue/White 67.466+4 64.780+3 63.973+2 64.667 [64.667]
3 13 Scott Bell 2007 Vw Gti Red 74.053 69.738 69.235 68.858 [68.858]
4 7 Charlie Turner 2009 Ford Mustang Grabber Orange 78.019 74.858 73.505 73.032 [73.032]
5 41 Robert Bartholomew 2009 Subaru Wrx Gray 81.806 74.723 75.467+DNF 75.214+DNF [74.723]

There were no pics taken of my class, but here's a few additional pics I came across from the Blue Ridge event a week earlier:

Talking to Adam before the event
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d14/Chiketkd/Mazda%20RX-8/2010%20Autocross%20events/BRR%20Event%201%203-21-10/ChikeAdam.jpg

At the line, waiting to run
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d14/Chiketkd/Mazda%20RX-8/2010%20Autocross%20events/BRR%20Event%201%203-21-10/ChikeinGrid.jpg

Sweeper
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d14/Chiketkd/Mazda%20RX-8/2010%20Autocross%20events/BRR%20Event%201%203-21-10/Chike04.jpg

[Chiketkd]

I had my second event with with my local Blue Ridge region today. Course was a longer one for the BRR region (~60 seconds) on one of our bigger lots with elevation changes. I won my class (5 drivers) and finished 2nd out of 76 in PAX. The guy that won FTP was one-out-of-the-trophies in FSP at Nats last year.

In terms of set-up, as temps were in the mid 70's, I tried some lower pressures - started at 40F/38R cold, and maintained 43F/41R hot. Tires felt quite grippy but not as grippy as the first event when I had a co-driver. I went with a front shock setting of 4, and a rear setting of 5. On my last run, I tightened up the front to a setting of 3.

Car felt well-balanced, but I was getting a little wheel spin on corner exit. I feel like there's a little too much dive under braking which is causing my inside rear wheel to loose contact with the pavement.

Summary:
1st of 5 in class
2nd of 76 in PAX

Results:
STX - Street Touring X Pax: 0.830
1t CHIKE DELLIMORE 2006 MAZDA RX-8 58.099 48.222
2t DAN KIMBER 1991 HONDA CIVIC SI 60.589 2.490 50.289
3 STEFFEN CLARK 1984 PLYMOUTH COLT TURBO 62.787 4.688 52.113
4 MARK HOUGLUM 06 HONDA CIVIC SI 62.862 4.763 52.176
5 BRIAN OETERS 2005 FORD MUSTANG 63.449 5.350 52.663

Here are some pics of the car in action:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2069/4513178660_083df36ed5.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2309/4512535123_deb1ab0a28.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4001/4515667051_f0db32e36c.jpg

[Chiketkd]

My next event is points event #1 with the WDCR region this coming Sunday. I'm going to try the lower cold pressures again, along with a front shock setting of '3' and a rear shock setting of '4'. Hoping the extra rebound will keep the rear end planted until I can find the time to swap in the stiffer front springs.

Once the springs are swapped, I plan on getting the car professionally aligned -- as I'm still on a garage alignment. :p

[Chiketkd]

I did Points event #1 with the DC region Sunday. STX ran in the morning, when temps were in the mid 50's, skies cloudy and a cool breeze was blowing. To make things even more interesting, about 50% of the lot was recently re-sealed and was VERY slick in these cooler temps! The 2wd cars were struggling to put any power down (even on the straights) while awd had a solid advantage.

I ran pressures of 39F/37R which felt good in these cooler conditions, however, my initial shock settings of 3F/4R were too stiff. Car was skating over the surface on my first run. Softened the fronts by two clicks and the rear by one, and that improved things greatly. I ended up third in class behind two solid drivers who were co-driving a well-developed WRX (both drivers have multiple trophies in STX at Tours and Pro Solos in the car).

For the morning session, the STX class winner (Travis) PAX'd in the top ten, while his co-driver (John) was 18th and I was 20th. Speaking to my friend who ran in the afternoon, temps got warmer and the sun came out, which improved the grip of the lot significantly. We all tumbled in overall PAX due to this...


Summary:
3rd out of 8 in class
70th out of 236 in PAX


Results
'Street Touring X' - Total Entries: 8 Trophies: 3 Car Color Times Total
1T STX 107 Travis Finlay 2003 Subaru Wrx Blue 59.715 57.550 56.758 56.605 56.605 -
2T STX 7 John Willemin 2003 Subaru Impreza Wrx World Rally Blue 61.693 58.110 57.432 62.806 DNF 57.432
3T STX 90 Chike Dellimore 2006 Mazda Rx-8 Grey 62.352 66.645 66.430 57.789 57.789
4 STX 13 Barrett Hill 2004 Subaru Wrx Silver 68.630 59.266 59.136 58.972 58.972
5 STX 57 Matthew Mero 1994 Bmw 325Is White 66.267 1 61.554 2 60.459 1 59.060 59.060
6 STX 39 Paul Evans 2002 Mini Cooper S Blue/White 60.092 DNF 63.775 3 59.724 61.191 1 59.724
7 STX 16 Derek Vlcko 2005 Subaru Wrx Crystal Gray Metallic 63.886 1 62.604 63.002 DNF 60.418 60.418
8 STX 1 Charles Bernard 2002 Lexus Is300 Graphite Gray 66.762 61.840 DNF 64.120 64.029 64.029


A few pics from Sunday's DC event:

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d14/Chiketkd/Mazda%20RX-8/2010%20Autocross%20events/WDCR%20Event%201%204-18-10/Chike08.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d14/Chiketkd/Mazda%20RX-8/2010%20Autocross%20events/WDCR%20Event%201%204-18-10/Chike09.jpg


One of my spins caught on camera...

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d14/Chiketkd/Mazda%20RX-8/2010%20Autocross%20events/WDCR%20Event%201%204-18-10/Spin01.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d14/Chiketkd/Mazda%20RX-8/2010%20Autocross%20events/WDCR%20Event%201%204-18-10/Spin02.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d14/Chiketkd/Mazda%20RX-8/2010%20Autocross%20events/WDCR%20Event%201%204-18-10/Spin03.jpg

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d14/Chiketkd/Mazda%20RX-8/2010%20Autocross%20events/WDCR%20Event%201%204-18-10/Spin04.jpg

[Myxalplyx]

Nice ride and pics Chike! Looks like you are having a lot of fun. Like those Enkei wheels too. Believe it or not, I have a 16" set on my RAV4. :lol: I hope you continue to do well in your racing. Will be watching.

[Chiketkd]

Thanks Kevin. Looks like your RAV4 has run some pretty insane times in the 1/4 mile! :eek:

[Chiketkd]

Installed the pair of 7K Swift front springs today with the help of my friend Shawn:

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d14/Chiketkd/Mazda%20RX-8/STX%20Build/SwiftvsStockPSS9spring.jpg

In this pic you can see the stock 6K PSS9 front spring next to the 7K Swift spring. In the foreground is the stock 40mm PSS9 bumpstop.

To increase my bump travel, I decided to cut down the stock PSS9 bumpstops by 4mm, giving me a 36mm bumpstop (same length as the ones FCM offers for the MX-5/RX-8). 4mm ended up being just the tapered end of the bumpstop (I removed it from the stiffer end of each bumpstop).

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d14/Chiketkd/Mazda%20RX-8/STX%20Build/Swiftspringsinstalled03.jpg

The above pic shows the material that was removed.

Re-installed the front coilovers after lowering my spring perches by 5mm -- due to the Swift springs being stiffer they don't compress as much as the stock PSS9 springs under the weight of the car.

The installed coilovers are shown below-

Driver's Side
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d14/Chiketkd/Mazda%20RX-8/STX%20Build/Swiftspringsinstalled01.jpg

Passenger Side
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d14/Chiketkd/Mazda%20RX-8/STX%20Build/Swiftspringsinstalled02.jpg

General Thoughts - Drove home on shock settings of 5F/5R. The car still felt very composed -- no sensation of it being underdamped or "bouncy". I also noticed less front-end dive under braking. I'm really looking forward to testing out my "revised" set-up at my next autocross! :cool:

[Chiketkd]

I got to autocross the car both days this past weekend.

On Saturday, I instructed at my local BRR-SCCA's annual solo school. Instructors got to do some runs at the end of the day, where I was able to turn FTD. Ran pressures of 39F/37R and shock settings of 4F/5R. With the new front springs, the car felt very composed, even in the bumpy stuff, and the front-end dived less in braking and seemed more composed through fast transitions.

Sunday, was points event #2 with the DC region at Fedex Stadium. There were 13 drivers competing in STX -- including a trailered STX WRX from PA. I ran pressures of 39F/37R with shock settings of 3F/4R as the "B lot" we used today has medium-to-high grip asphalt. My best was a 42.8 which left me 3rd in class -- 0.1 seconds out of 2nd, 0.2 seconds out of 1st. Overall, I felt pretty happy with my final time as Ian Baker (pro solo national champion and has finished as high as 2nd at solo nats) won STS in his CRX SI with a best time 42.498. So running ~0.3 seconds off of Ian this early in the season is definitely encouraging.


Summary:
3rd out of 13 in class
29th out of 204 in PAX

Results
Street Touring X
Pos # Driver Car Run1 Run2 Run3 Run4 Total Diff
1T 7 Willemin, John 2003 Subaru Impreza Wrx World Rally Blue 43.741+1 43.341+DNF 42.853 42.644 42.644 0
2T 107 Finlay, Travis 2003 Subaru Wrx Blue 44.440 43.892 42.762 43.384 42.762 0.118
3T 90 Dellimore, Chike 2006 Mazda Rx-8 Grey 43.565 43.137+1 43.463 42.868 42.868 0.106
4 91 Koback, Adam 2004 Subaru Wrx Silver 43.595 43.919+1 42.957 43.097 42.957 0.089
5 29 Sciukas, Paul 2005 Subaru Wrx Blue 45.461 44.164 43.721 43.797 43.721 0.764
6 13 Hill, Barrett 2004 Subaru Wrx Silver 46.389+1 45.554 44.955 45.229 44.955 1.234
7 57 Mero, Matthew 1994 Bmw 325Is White 48.482 45.920 45.205 45.225 45.205 0.250
8 68 Ferrucci, Michael 2008 Blue Subaru WRX 46.003 45.514+1 45.464+DNF 45.407 45.407 0.202
9 39 Evans, Paul 2002 Mini Cooper S Blue/White 47.037+1 46.261+DNF 45.795 45.697+1 45.795 0.388
10 16 Vlcko, Derek 2005 Subaru Wrx Crystal Gray Metallic 48.329 47.001 46.693 46.512+2 46.693 0.898
11 1 Bernard, Charles 2002 Lexus Is300 Graphite Gray 55.796+1 49.138 49.220 47.681 47.681 0.988
12 11 Laor, Jonathan 2006 Infinity G35 White 51.073 48.987 48.284 48.313 48.284 0.603
13 21 Roberts, Andrew 2006 Vw Gti Black 53.274 52.787 51.226+DNF 50.729 50.729 2.445



Pics:

Willemin
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4005/4576070087_a71c273ec4.jpg

Finlay
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4018/4576101521_be9b091da9.jpg

Dellimore (yours truly)
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4053/4576117559_c05a66aeb9.jpg

Koback
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4033/4576754580_88ca20ce12.jpg

Sciukas
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4031/4576749276_19608dbf09.jpg

[benebob]

Who said I had a final 3? http://www.rx8club.com/images/smilies/dunno.gif

My final choice was actually between the RE-11's and the RS-3's. The RE-11's are good in the dry & the wet, while the RS-3's are an exceptional dry tire and a little more "sketchy" in the wet. In the end, I wanted to have the absolute best dry tire and from my research the RS-3's were the ones for me...


I loved the rs-3s but the no longer make 'em in a real car tire size since the trend is bling not performance. Moved to the Kuhmo XS and it is an equal in the dry and not as scary in the wet (hydroplaned for 80 miles going 40mph. on the pa turnpike. They are horribly loud but that isn't an issue for me and seem to be lasting nicely. Have nearly 300 miles on 'em. Of course my tire pressures are a little lighter (20 front 18 rear) but they're worth a try especially for +-20% less than the Hankooks! I did have numerous BMW Mini owners chomping at the bit to by the Hankooks so they might be better on some heavier cars.;)

[Chiketkd]

Ben,

The Kumho XS's are definitley an exceptional dry weather tire like the RS-3's. They were definitely one of the tires I considered initially...

Next up for me will be an autocross with the Shenandoah PCA chapter on 5/15, followed by the North East Divisional on 5/30 - 5/31. Gary will be driving my car at the divisional, and I'm hoping we could both finish towards the pointy end of the well-subscribed class (11 currently registered).

[GreenMarine]

Hey Chike, I might have talked with you about this a few years ago (can't remember)... Anyway, if you want an OBX headder and stock spare wheel, let me know. I managed to salvage them from my friends RX-8 after a lady t-boned him when the car was only 10,000 miles old :(...

Here's a link to the forsale thread on NASIOC if you are interested... Shoot me an email since I am never on here anymore :rolleyes:

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1667614

cjlindley "at" gmail "dot" com

Thanks man,

~ Chris

[Chiketkd]

Hey Chris,

Thanks for the heads-up. Not sure if I'll do a header on my car as the performance gains are minimal, while the noise level increases are substantial. However, if I decide to go this route, I'll let you know...

Been a while since I updated this thread. I haven't autocrossed since the last DC event #2, but I have a PCA event this Saturday. Gary and I will be co-driving the RX-8 as we both prepare for the NE Divisional at the end of this month! :cool: As my car still lacks any kind of ECU mods, I need to be sure my suspension set-up is dialed-in as much as possible.

[Chiketkd]

Here's a write-up that two of my other competitors have written about the May 2nd WDCR event. I'm including them as I feel they give a great perspective on how close the racing was that day...

Event #5: WDCR/SCCA @ Fedex, 5-2-2010

After the sealant-cross at the 4-18 event, we were moved to a smaller but not-freshly-sealed lot for the 5-2 event. Mixed blessing: less space, but thankfully back to normal Fedex levels of grip.

For this event, in addition to the normal WDCR folk, STX had visitors from PA: Adam (adamkob32 I think), Mike (aferruci83) and Paul (planetarygear), all with coilover'd and Dunlop'd WRXs at various levels of prep. Adam and Mike are on the same coilovers as Travis and I (Ground Control full coilovers w/ Konis) though all three cars are on slightly different springrates.

[watching the Flyers game. ****, ****, ****, **** ****. :sadbanana:]

The course was mostly straightforward with a couple of tricks. I lost the charger for the netbook that runs our MaxQData setup, so no video. Here's Adam's video, though:

YouTube- 5/2/2010 Adam Koback, WDCR FedEx Autocross 01 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-iNYpfPncY)

First run: decent, 43.7 + 1 somewhere. I was pleasantly surprised by how grippy it was. I spent most of this run being afraid to go remotely deep into any of the braking zones and figuring out where I could push harder.

2nd run: I got a little crossed up and zigged when I should have zagged... went on the inside of a pointer cone, O/C. I used the rest of the run to push a lot harder to see where the limits were. 43.3 but OC.

3rd run: OK, time to get a clean one... I knew Chike had a dirty 43.1 and Adam had a clean 43.5. I didn't really change strategies, it wasn't a "safety" run or anything like that, I just made a mental note to stay tight/patient after the first sweeper so that I could really power up the hill, and to stay on the correct side of all the pointer cones :unamused: 42.8 clean. Cool.

Then Travis came in with a 42.7. Damned codrivers!

Adam got a 42.9, and Chike had a clean 43.4, and Paul was sitting on a 43.7 - I knew any of them could get faster. Sometimes I have noticed in past events that if I get a decent time I'll get a little complacent and not go into my last run with the same mentality. And then someone rips off a great run and I kick myself. Sooo

4th run: No big strategy changes. I wanted to push a little deeper into the braking zone at the end of the really fast slalom, and clean up the downhill-to-uphill U-turn before the finish. I had overshot a little on my 3rd run and it took me a while before I could get back on the gas. I pushed a little harder in the last righthander to the finish and had to wait a little to get on the gas, may have been worth it since I carried more speed into it... 42.6. Travis ended up sitting on his 42.7, Chike dropped down to a 42.8, and Adam stayed with a 42.9. So, it ended up like this:

42.6
42.7
42.8
42.9
43.7

Close racing! I can't remember STX ever having a top 4/top 5 quite like this. It should be a cool year for sure.

Car setup notes

No changes coming in. We had to spray the fronts after the 1st set of runs, and the rears needed a light spray for the last couple runs. Tire pressures were only going up 1 psi in the front between runs, and less than that in the rear. Anecdotally it seems like a 2-3 psi gain was pretty normal when we were on the 27mm bar. (or maybe we're just driving smoother)

The car still hasn't been aligned... maybe for the divisional.

There should be a set of AD08s on the way soon, just working out the logistics with Radial Tire and Yokohama. The Z1s have been pretty amazing though, still fast even after all these miles/heat cycles/runs. It's like they haven't dropped off at all.

The only setup change planned is to get the Whiteline bushings installed in the rear lateral links/trailing arms. Just have to take the rear suspension off and do it...

5/2/2010 WDCR SCCA Autocross #2

So after not being down to DC Region myself in over 2 years I figured it was definitely over due, especially since they have such a strong STX following down there at the moment. John and Travis always put on a good show in their 03 WRX, and now another competitor of the region Chike is putting together a serious RX-8 STX build as well. I also wanted to get an event or two in with the car setup before the big divisional at the end of May.

We all went out for our first runs, on a brand new lot mind you, and I think all of us were pretty stunned and happy just how great it was and how much grip we had out there. I came across with a 43.595 on my first run, which put me in 2nd position, Chike 1st, Travis 3rd, and John 4th carrying a cone. I was blown away with how well the car performed and knew it was going to be a good day with how close we were all running. The car rotated really great, power came on at the right times, it was just going well.

Second run I wanted to really push the car and see where I could make up some time. Unfortunately in doing so I carried a cone on the 2nd run and pushed a little slower. All our positions pretty much stayed the same after this run set.

Third runs really got the blood pumping. I myself wanted to calm down a bit and get a nice composed run in. John ran first and threw down a 42.853, which Travis then bested with a 42.762, RX-8 came across with a 43.463 and I came in at a sub 43, 42.957. Absolutely thrilled that we were all running so closely and knew something had to be done in the final run.

Fourth run John was up first and absolutely demolished us throwing down a 42.644 to take over the lead from Travis who can only muster a 43.3 on the final run. RX-8 came through with a flying pass of 42.868 to take away 3rd place from me by .089 seconds. I couldn't not do a better time on the 4th run with the current tire temperatures and only managed a 43.097.

So at the end of the day only .3 seconds separated 1st through 4th place.
1st John - 42.644
2nd Travis - 42.762
3rd Chike - 42.868
4th Adam - 42.957

Absolutely the closest battle I think I've had in a few years and well worth the trip down there. I'm really looking forward to running with those guys again at Divisional towards the end of May. If you guys are somewhat local I suggest checking this event out, it's going to be so much fun. I'll leave you guys with a video (incar and spectator).

YouTube- 5/2/2010 Adam Koback, WDCR FedEx Autocross 01 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-iNYpfPncY)

P.S. I'll add my write-up of the 5/15 PCA event tonight.

[Chiketkd]

I competed at the 5/15 PCA event #2 at Verona, VA. This was the first PCA autocross I've ever done and I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of course design...

The course ended up being an array of high and low speed elements mixed together. The first section flowed well, the later 2/3rds of the course just didn't imho.

One part of the course went dangerously close to the edge of the lot (by a grassy hill), and 2-3 cars ended up going off into the grass during the course of the event. See a pic of one off-course excursion by a miata below:

http://shn.pca.org/images/AX100515wb.jpg

In terms of my driving (what I could control), I was just inconsistent. Gary was up first in the RX-8 and after three runs got down to a 60.039. I went next (in the following heat), and ran a best of 61.3 after two runs. We then checked my tires and realized they were overheating, and after a good spraying, I was able to turn a 59.726+1 on my 3rd run.

We then had a short break and Gary go two more runs in the afternoon. He ran a 59.3+1 and then a clean 59.858. I went next, and ran a clean 60.859 and then a dirty 60.6+1.

So Gary had the fastest Raw and clean time time. We were both at the top of the "Other" class, with the next fastest competitor back in the 61's. I'm pleased I was able to find some speed on the day and get into the 59's -- even if it ended up being dirty... :(

[Chiketkd]

http://www.nedivsolo.org/images/08-solo-divchampionship-log.gif

Will be the 2010 NE Divisional @ Fedex Field this coming Memorial Day weekend. Gary is co-driving with me, and STX has a total of 12 people registered. Should be another great event with great competition!!! :cool:

[Chiketkd]

Quick Update: I did the practice session this afternoon with two WRX guys from the last DC event (Willemin and Koback). We each did 4 runs on the pratice course which included a fast slalom, long sweeper, two lower speed offsets, and a relatively fast off-camber finish! Willemin ran a best of 23.0, Koback got down to a 22.8 while I turned a 22.7. There were also two turbo Mini Cooper S STX drivers who were both back in the mid-to-upper 23's.

My suspension really feels dialed-in at the moment and there's not a single change I'd make to it. In terms of tire pressures, I ran cold pressures of 39F/36R which I then kept at 40F/37R when hot. This felt REALLY good. Back-end was very easy to control when it stepped out and grip felt exceptional F&R.

The car is definitely in good shape for this event. As long as the weather cooperates, I'm shooting for a top 3 finish...and I feel I have a solid shot at the top spot!

*fingers crossed*

[Chiketkd]

Day 1 is now over at Fedex and I'm very happy with how the car performed today. I lead the class with a 56.6 after 2nd runs, but fell to 2nd in the end when Gary pulled out a 56.4 on his 4th and final run (I ran a dirty 56.0 and 55.9 on my 3rd and 4th runs respectively).

So my car currently sits 1-2 in the class. 6th place in the class is a 57.0 - so there's literally 6 drivers all within 0.6 seconds of the lead!

Day 2 will be interesting...

[Chiketkd]

Day 2 of the 2010 NE Divisional went well and I came away as the STX class champion. Gary couldn't quite match my pace, and fell to 3rd. Adam Koback (won ST at last year's Finger Lakes NT), moved from 4th to 2nd.

My fastest time today of 52.2 was 0.4 seconds faster than anyone else in the class and 0.2 seconds faster than Ian Baker's winning time in STS. My cumulative time for the weekend was 0.1 seconds off of Ian's. All in all it was a great weekend, with great competition.

I'm still impressed by just how well my suspension is working right now. These coilovers kick ass!!!! :cool:

[Chiketkd]

The STX class had 14 drivers including a few past NT winners like Adam Koback and Andrew Weigel (won ST and STX respectively at last year's Finger Lakes NT). Adam is in a WRX for 2010 as are a number of fast WDCR WRX drivers like John Willemin and Travis Finlay, etc. Gary Krichbaum from my local SCCA region co-drove with me at this event.

After a tight battle on Day 1 which saw the top 6 separated by ~0.6 seconds, the class stood as follows:

Gary (RX8) - 56.4
Chike (RX8) - 56.6 (coned away a 55.9)
Kevin (WRX) - 56.7
Adam (WRX) - 56.8
Travis (WRX) - 56.8
John (WRX) - 57.0

On Day 2, only 3 drivers managed to get into the 52's on clean runs. John and Travis managed best runs of 53.3 and 53.8 respectively and finished 5th and 6th in the class. Kevin turned a clean 52.9 but fell to 4th, behind my co-driver Gary who's fastest run was a clean 53.1. Adam ran the fastest raw time of 52.0+1 but had to stand on a clean 52.6 and finished in 2nd overall. I lead the class with a clean 52.2 second run which moved me into the top spot.

A few thoughts- I'm extremely happy with my suspension settings/alignment/tire pressures at the moment. Both Gary and I found my car's handling at the limit to be very predictable and easy to control. A big thanks to Sam Strano for his set-up advice!

Summary:
1st out of 14 in class
44th out of 191 in PAX

Results: http://www.wdcr-scca.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=Nw7M1QUL2mk%3d&tabid=1663&mid=3490

PAX: http://www.wdcr-scca.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=KZUguE6waSs%3d&tabid=1663&mid=3490


Pics:

Entering the showcase
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1292/4663989788_e1384cba6e.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4036/4663992292_8c53ea2d61.jpg

Into the final turn before the finish
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4024/4663993602_4986e95241.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4059/4663994998_02dcf475f5.jpg

[SVXRide]

Chike,

Sam is setting up RX-8s now? Damn, but the man is good! Congrats on a great event!

-Bill

[Chiketkd]

Bill,

Absolutely. That guy is brilliant when it comes to making cars work. I bought my Bilstein coilovers and Swift springs from him. We discussed my target wheel rates and how to achieve them through changes/adjustments to my springs and swaybars.

At this point, I'm not touching my suspension again for the season! :D

P.S. I was planning on the NE Divisional being my only "big" event of this season. Based on my result against the talent that was present in the class, I'm serious toying with the idea of doing either the Finger Lakes NT or the Peru NT. If I do decide to do one of these, I'll need to get a co-driver to help keep my costs down (gas & hotel).

[Chiketkd]

Gary brought his camera and we were able to get videos of our fastest runs on Sunday's course:

Chike - 52.283 (fastest STX run on Sunday)
<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xmF8Ibr_48E&hl=en_US&fs=1&&ap=%2526fmt%3D18"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xmF8Ibr_48E&hl=en_US&fs=1&&ap=%2526fmt%3D18" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

Gary - 53.150 (4th fastest STX run on Sunday)
<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xJDspS4kkgs&hl=en_US&fs=1&&ap=%2526fmt%3D18"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xJDspS4kkgs&hl=en_US&fs=1&&ap=%2526fmt%3D18" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

[Myxalplyx]

Awesome! Love the camera runs! Feels like I was there. :D

[Chiketkd]

Thanks Kevin. I've edited the video links to show the slightly higher quality versions - still not great but "better".

This is by far the biggest title I've ever won in autocross. While nationals isn't in the budget for this year, I'm hoping to do a national tour event before the summer's out. The Finger Lakes and Peru events are being considered...

[Chiketkd]

I had an interesting event in STX...

In my small Blue Ridge Region, I won my class (6 drivers total) and captured my first ever FTP! :)

I then jumped into the 2nd place finishing '91 Civic Si during fun runs. Kimber has received input from Dave O'Maley and Tim Smith on setting up his car and runs a set-up similar to theirs. However, he's on some well-worn Bridgestones and not the hot ticket 195 Toyos or 225 RS-3's. I did my first two runs ever in his Civic Si last month at a PCA event. I took 3 runs at the VT event, and straight-timed my winning time in the RX-8!!! Those Civic Si's transition crazy fast on street tires.

Course was very transitional with some fast slaloms and transitions, mixed in with 2-3 low speed sweepers/corners that hurt cars low on torque.

Summary:
1st out of 6 in class
1st out of 70 in PAX

Results:
STX - Street Touring X Pax: 0.830
1t CHIKE DELLIMORE 2006 MAZDA RX-8 58.460 FTP 48.522 0.000
2t DAN KIMBER 1991 HONDA CIVIC SI 60.730 2.270 50.406 1.884
3 STEFFEN CLARK 1984 PLYMOUTH COLT TURBO 62.495 4.035 51.871 3.349
4 MICHAEL HOUGHTON CIVIC SI 63.442 4.982 52.657 4.135
5 CHAD BENNETT 1992 NISSAN 240SX 65.049 6.589 53.991 5.469
6 BRIAN OETERS 2005 FORD MUSTANG 65.159 6.699 54.082 5.560

Link: http://www.brr-scca.org/Results/20100613.htm


A few pics from the event:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4030/4697952571_34d07d2717.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4023/4697955727_5b1a4cfc10.jpg

Kimber's Civic Si

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4053/4698589964_c5a24309ed.jpg

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1284/4698583240_44e0bb64cd.jpg

[Chiketkd]

I did WDCR event #3 last Sunday, running against Willemin and Finlay co-driving Willemin's WRX. Willemin was fresh off his STX win at the DC Pro and recently switched to some new AD08's (shaved). We were back on the large E/F lot, but since a large portion of this lot was re-sealed earlier this year, the newly resurfaced areas were still low on grip compared to the more weathered parts of the lot. The course was highly transitional with a long slalom and a very fast wallom. I ended up winning the class by just over 1.4 seconds.

Summary:
1st out of 8 in class
10th out of 158 in PAX

Street Touring X
Pos # Driver Car Run1 Run2 Run3 Run4 Total Diff
1T 90 Dellimore, Chike 2006 Mazda Rx-8 Grey 56.226+1 56.564 55.772 55.404 55.404 0
2T 7 Willemin, John 2003 Subaru Impreza Wrx World Rally Blue 58.183+1 57.504 58.311+2 56.807 56.807 1.403
3T 107 Finlay, Travis 2003 Subaru Wrx Blue 59.137+1 58.600 58.200 57.551 57.551 0.744
4 57 Mero, Matthew 1994 Bmw 325Is White 62.022+2 60.599 58.617 59.723 58.617 1.066
5 37 Payne, David 2002 Mini Cooper S Electric Blue 63.658 62.081 60.543 60.829 60.543 1.926
6 13 Hill, Barrett 2004 Subaru Wrx Silver 68.854 61.263+DNF 62.432+DNF 60.754 60.754 0.211
7 44 Sibley, Fil 2007 Blue Mustang GT 66.056 65.709 64.712 65.398 64.712 3.958
8 46 Neal, Doug 2005 Subaru Wrx White 72.406 67.014 64.984 76.787 64.984 0.272


http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4137/4746834074_0997fbd56f.jpg

Weather conditions stayed pretty constant throughout the entire day, so I was pretty happy with my 10th place finish in PAX (STX ran 1st heat in the am). Junior Johnson took top PAX in an ASP corvette, with Ian Baker finishing 2nd overall in his STS CRX Si.

[icingdeath88]

Congrats. What's a wallom?

[Chiketkd]

Congrats. What's a wallom?
They say a picture is worth a thousand words...

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4122/4747843658_9265844480.jpg

It's a slalom where walls are used instead of single cones. :)

[newsvx]

Chiketd,
Great video and photos.

That was a "long" course, and high speed to boot. Looks like that RX8 handles very well .....
Check out http://s222.photobucket.com/albums/dd218/newsvx/Autocross%206%2027%202010/
For our latest autocross where I'm now running my Pearly (yep, I now have a second SVX). Since I just had coil-overs put on the car (thanks OT!!), I'm running in STI rather than G Stock. I "think" that's where I belong ..... ;)
BTW, the FTD here was by a Mustang Cobra at high 34's - my best time was 37 even...... There's a video of the Mustang's run .....

Sounds like you are having a grand season - keep it up!

Harry

[svxfiles]

Chiketd,
Great video and photos.

That was a "long" course, and high speed to boot. Looks like that RX8 handles very well .....
Check out http://s222.photobucket.com/albums/dd218/newsvx/Autocross%206%2027%202010/
For our latest autocross where I'm now running my Pearly (yep, I now have a second SVX). Since I just had coil-overs put on the car (thanks OT!!), I'm running in STI rather than G Stock. I "think" that's where I belong ..... ;)
BTW, the FTD here was by a Mustang Cobra at high 34's - my best time was 37 even...... There's a video of the Mustang's run .....

Sounds like you are having a grand season - keep it up!

Harry
Fixed it for ya Harry!:D:p

[newsvx]

Fixed it for ya Harry!:D:p


GOOD FIX, Tom!!!! ;)

[svxfiles]

GOOD FIX, Tom!!!! ;)

Oh, Harry,400# fronts, 10" long
It is just good to know,300# rears 12" long
that I could, somehow, help.:)
Absolutely SHAMELESS PLUG!:D

[newsvx]

Oh, Harry,400# fronts, 10" long
It is just good to know,300# rears 12" long
that I could, somehow, help.:)
Absolutely SHAMELESS PLUG!:D


I like plugs ..... :lol::lol:

[svxfiles]

I like plugs ..... :lol::lol:

NGK iridium, #BKR6EIX-11, Stock 3764;)

[Chiketkd]

Thanks for the positive comments folks. This has definitely been my best season ever!

Harry, I checked out the link and your car looks much flatter in corners. Which class do you currently run -- you mentioned STI but there's no class by that name in SCCA autocross??? Is that a Mercedes club class or was that a typo?

With the coilovers, if you're on 245 wide street tires and 8" wide wheels, you should be in STX based on the SVX's engine displacement size. If you're on r-comps, then you'll be in ESP or Street Mod.

Let's try not to take this thread too far off topic, but it's nice seeing you and Tom posting in here. :)

[Chiketkd]

I've really thought about my car's set-up/handling over the last few days and I must say that with roughly a dozen events under my belt, I've absolutely no changes that I'd make to my suspension & alignment settings at this time. I've built this car for the class with the aim to keep it "as soft as possible" to do the job I need. The bilsteins have definitely provided copious amounts of droop travel which helps keeps all four tires on the ground at all times. Also, the slightly stiffer front springs I switched to back in late April, have definitely helped reduce front-end dive under braking.

I'm definitely still lacking in the power department, though I hope to address this issue over the winter in the form of a Cobb AP and protune. Currently, I'm just losing too much time to the WRXs on uphill sections. Hopefully I'll also have the funds to get a light-weight race seat (driver's) to keep me secure in turns. :)

[Chiketkd]

I did WDCR event #4 this past Sunday, and once more my stiffest competition came from Willemin and Finlay co-driving a WRX. STX ran in the fourth and final heat of the day, but conditions stayed relatively consistent all day long (upper 80's to low 90's). This course had two long uphill sections which definitely favored the torquey WRX, but with some nice transitional stuff in the middle to keep them honest! ;)

I unfortunately couldn't get a good rhythm going on this course. I coned my first run, went super slow on my 2nd to stay clean, then pushed things more on my third to turn my fastest raw time of the day (but with 2 cones), and then turned a semi-safe 4th run which was clean. I finished 2nd, roughly 2/10ths behind Willemin, while Finaly was another 1.3 seconds back in 3rd.

Summary:
2nd out of 11 in class
34th out of 192 in PAX

Street Touring X
Pos # Driver Car Run1 Run2 Run3 Run4 Total Diff
1T 7 Willemin, John 2003 Subaru Impreza Wrx World Rally Blue 57.670+1 56.971 57.164 56.354 56.354 0
2T 90 Dellimore, Chike 2006 Mazda Rx-8 Grey 56.483+1 57.855 56.147+2 56.541 56.541 0.187
3T 107 Finlay, Travis 2003 Subaru Wrx Blue 60.695 58.264 57.884 58.119 57.884 1.343
4 57 Mero, Matthew 1994 Bmw 325Is White 60.727 58.847 58.702 59.718+1 58.702 0.818
5 13 Hill, Barrett 2004 Subaru Wrx Silver 60.712 60.913 59.513 60.120 59.513 0.811
6 70 Bennett, Chad 1992 Nissan 240SX 64.733+DNF 62.253 61.554 64.014+1 61.554 2.041
7 11 Laor, Jonathan 2006 Infinity G35 White 66.893 64.043 64.282 62.926 62.926 1.372
8 21 Gosney, James 2007 Subaru Impreza Wrx Grey 66.639 63.156+DNF 64.381 63.201 63.201 0.275
9 10 Smith, Jack 2009 Honda Civic Si Crystal Black Pearl 67.281+1 65.543 64.086 63.474 63.474 0.273
10 44 Sibley, Fil Ford Mustang GT 65.999 65.660 64.052 64.199 64.052 0.578
11 46 Neal, Doug 2005 Subaru Wrx White 76.958+1 70.754 69.581+2 67.307 67.307 3.255

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4139/4789477916_7f5dcfcb46.jpg

[svxfiles]

Hopefully I'll also have the funds to get a light-weight race seat (driver's) to keep me secure in turns. :)

I might be able to hook you up with a black, cloth, Bride Low Max.
The seat is only about 12.5" wide, but you YOUR skinny, er, seat area it just might work!:)

[svxfiles]

"You hear banjo's?




Are they Kin, somehow???;)

[Chiketkd]

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4095/4789515156_91b10e7f5b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4139/4789515374_4fcaf63515.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4118/4789515602_b7a24cdc0c.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4122/4789515788_203ed7db99.jpg

[Chiketkd]

I might be able to hook you up with a black, cloth, Bride Low Max.
The seat is only about 12.5" wide, but you YOUR skinny, er, seat area it just might work!:)
That might actually be too narrow for my needs as I want to have a seat wide enough for a good range of drivers to fit in (since I'll most likely always have a co-driver at National events). With this said, depending on price, condition and size I might just consider it. I was leaning towards a Sparco seat which comes with direct fit rails & sliders for my car.
Are they Kin, somehow???;)
They very well could be...

(on my wife's side of the family of course!)

[Chiketkd]

Is the 2 day CommonWealth games of Virginia this weekend. The wife and kids should be coming down to hang out with me, and Gary will be co-driving with me in STX.

http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d14/Chiketkd/2006%20Subaru%20WRX%20TR/AutoX%20pics/Commonwealth%20Games%20July%2007/CommonwealthGamesofVA02.jpg

[Chiketkd]

Well I competed in the 2-day CommonWealth Games in Danville, VA this weekend and ran against the stiffest competition I've ever faced this season. Chris Cline ran his BMW over both days while Eric Sienkiewicz came up and ran Sunday only.

On Saturday, the weather was a mix of pouring rain and sunshine, and by the time STX ran in the final heat, we had a course that was wet but drying slowly in the late afternoon sun. I'd never driven my car in the wet before, and had to guesstimate at what might work. I softened my shocks, took some psi out of my tires and disconnected my rear swaybar. This proved to be a decent starting point, but I was also on RS-3's which aren't the greatest in the wet (as they need heat to work).

Cline absolutely dominated everyone on Saturday. His Star Specs worked well in the wet and he just plain out drove us all. Cline lead the class with a 54.5, while a well-driven turbo Mini was in 2nd with a 57.0 and I was less than 4/100ths back with a 57.1 (I had a dirty 55.9 +3)

SATURDAY'S RESULTS: http://www.brr-scca.org/Results/20100717.htm

Conditions on Sunday stayed consistent throughout the day with temps in the low 90's and sunny for all run groups. Enter Eric into the class. Eric's first run in Cline's BMW ended up being the fastest raw time by a fendered car for the day -- a 51.6+1. Eric would stay dirty all day, and finished behind Cline who turned a clean 53.1 on his 2nd run. The solid driver in the turbo mini turned a clean 53.8, while I drove my ass off to a clean 54.0.

Eric's 51.6+1 in the BMW:
<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Vvlp0j5F8dQ&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Vvlp0j5F8dQ&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>

SUNDAY'S RESULTS: http://www.brr-scca.org/Results/20100718.htm

As a side note, the Cline/Sienkiewicz BMW broke on Cline's 3rd run when a radiator fan disintegrated and chewed a hole through the radiator. As a result, I offered Eric my car to do his final 2 runs. His fastest run in the RX-8 was a 52.9 (+3). Eric offered me a few random comments about my car:

1) He loved my suspension set-up and the car's overall balance at the limit.

2) The brakes on the RX-8 are phenomenal. He mentioned when doing additional upgrades to my car, I should focus my attention on the brakes last of all.

3) The RX-8 is wider than the E36... :rofl:

Eric was a little more than 2 seconds faster than me on Sunday (his fastest raw in the BMW vs my fastest time), and over 1 second faster than me in my own RX-8. Eric showed me there's another 1 second or so left in the driver (no surprise there), but also that I have another 1 second or so left in the development of my set-up.

Once I add racing seats, a lightweight battery and more power/torque from engine tuning, how much time could I drop? The driver thing will continue to be a work-in-progress. :lol: I definitely learned a bunch this weekend...

Summary for the 2 day event:
3rd out of 8 in class
4th out of 50 in 2-day PAX

Link: http://www.brr-scca.org/Results/20100718ByPax.html

--Chike

P.S. Btw, for those not familiar with the name Eric Sienkiewicz, check out the results from the 2010 Dixie NT where he ran against the current STX National Champion Bryce Meredith! ;) If he finishes outside of the top 5 at Nats, I'll be shocked!

[Chiketkd]

Hanging out with Dave Ogburn in padddock:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4122/4825491187_fa6aee106d.jpg

Lining up in grid:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4093/4825479899_612ac613da.jpg

Chris Cline:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4097/4825468015_ed0c5ef339.jpg

Eric Sienkiewicz
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4074/4806722007_a596cb5971.jpg

Dave Ogburn:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4101/4825463027_8c8b2b870b.jpg

Gary:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4141/4826073828_524bbab3ef.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4120/4826087406_874d352bcf.jpg

Chike:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4079/4826063936_f8a9e5430b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4134/4826064096_3da05b36c6.jpg

[Chiketkd]

I'll be at Fedex this Sunday running against Willemin and Finlay once more in STX. Kevin Tulay who co-drove with Adam Koback at the NE Divisional will be co-driving with me and will bring along his video camera -- so hopefully I'll have some nice video of our fastest runs.

I plan to play around with my shock settings a little more to see if I can find more speed in my current set-up. The rear of the car feels absolutely perfect, but I would like a little more rebound up front...so I'll try the front shocks on a slightly firmer setting.

[Chiketkd]

Time to update this thread...

Not much to say about this event other than I drove some sections well, and absolutely sucked in others.

The description from my Youtube video sums everything up:
Thoughts -- I needed to have been on the throttle more in the slalom/offset section between the 20-30 second marks. I went wide in the showcase turns/sweepers at the 30-35 and 50-54 second marks. I also went wide in the final turn at the 1:00 mark before the finish. Valuable time lost from these mistakes.

<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zjjyPEAZpbo&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/zjjyPEAZpbo&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

Summary:
2nd out of 11 in class
35th out of 182 in PAX

'Street Touring X' - Total Entries: 13 Trophies: 4 Car Color Times Total
1T stx 7 John Willemin 2003 Subaru Impreza Wrx World Rally Blue 58.999 59.487 58.874 57.766 57.766 -
2T stx 190 Chike Dellimore 2006 Mazda Rx-8 Grey 60.120+1 58.924 58.736 59.139 58.736 0.970
3T stx 90 Kevin Tulay 2006 Mazda Rx8 Gray 68.157 59.185+2 58.900+1 59.052 59.052 0.316
4T stx 107 Travis Finlay 2003 Subaru Wrx Blue 60.852 60.367 59.103 60.036 59.103 0.051
5 stx 49 Vince Bly 2003 Mini Cooper S Blue And Yellow 61.189 60.312 59.447 59.981 59.447 0.344
6 stx 199 Barry Miles 1987 Dodge Glh Turbo Silver 62.698 60.968 60.835+1 60.287 60.287 0.840
7 stx 57 Matthew Mero 1994 Bmw 325Is White 60.648 70.475+dnf 61.659 60.155+3 60.648 0.361
8 stx 13 Barrett Hill 2004 Subaru Wrx Silver 62.143 62.250 61.618 60.660 60.660 0.012
9 stx 99 Carl Bauersfeld 2006 Mini S Astro Black 72.698 67.240 64.090 63.633 63.633 2.973
10 stx 44 Fil Sibley 2007 Ford Mustang Blue 66.038 65.756 64.374 65.474 64.374 0.741
11 stx 31 Scott Bell 2007 Vw Gti Red 66.774 69.796+2 65.861 65.869 65.861 1.487


http://dac.smugmug.com/My-Autocross-Shots/WDCR-SCCA-Solo-Event-5-2010/STX/190DSC69041/958917832_FarDD-M.jpg

P.S. I'll be back at Fedex this weekend for event #6. Shawn will be co-driving and here's hoping I can pull my head out of my arse and drive! :lol:

[Chiketkd]

Much happier with my driving after this past weekend's WDCR event. Shawn co-drove with me in the Open class, while Katie drove my car in Ladies. Temps were in the low 80's and muggy as it had been raining quite a bit, but by the time STX gridded in the 4th heat, the rain had stopped and the course was damp in some areas but mostly dry.

A top local F125 driver, Justin Neal, decided to run his prepped WRX in STX (as he had no rains for his cart), so I knew he would be tough (SportsCar has him listed as a possible to win Solo Nats in F125 this Fall). Shawn is a fast driver, while Travis and John are always quick in their WRX.

Shawn had a spin on his first run (in a damp spot) and turned a 70.6, while Justin and I both hit two cones on our first runs and turned raw times in the 65's. John was at a clean 66.7 while Travis turned a clean 67.8.

2nd runs saw times drop significantly. Justin lead the way with a clean 64.5, while I was right behind with a clean 64.6. Shawn was 3rd with a clean 65.4 while John was 4th with a 65.5. Travis had a dirty 65.1+1 which left him 5th in class.

During 3rd runs, Shawn took the lead with a clean 63.6, while I had a dirty 63.7+1. Justin ran a 64.3+1 so had to stand on his 2nd run, while Travis put down a clean 64.2. John improved sligtly to a clean 65.2.

Fianl runs rolled around and I knew a low 63/high 62 was possible. Shawn came in with a clean 64.6 so had to stand on his 3rd run. John and Travis improved to a 64.7 and 64.1 respectively. At the line was Justin and I was the car directly behind him.

I laid down a very solid lap. I drove a tight line in sweepers, got on the gas early in the power sections and made it through a kink with just a lift, where I previously tapped the brakes. Approaching the finish line I could see that Justin turned a 63.1...would my time be lower??? I cross the line, stare at the light and see a 63.303! Aargh -- so close!!!!

I'm delighted though as this was my best driving in the last 2 months. I absolutely pushed myself to my limits, and kept finding time on each and every run! The car performed absolutely flawlessly and the suspension felt completely dialed-in for the surface!

Summary:
2nd of 13 in class
11th of 185 in PAX


Street Touring X
Pos # Driver Car Run1 Run2 Run3 Run4 Total Diff
1T 146 Neal, Justin WRX 65.299+2 64.500 64.357+1 63.109 63.109 0
2T 190 Dellimore, Chike 2006 Mazda Rx-8 Grey 65.976+2 64.664 63.744+1 63.303 63.303 0.194
3T 90 Roberts, Shawn 2006 Mazda Rx-8 Grey 70.673 65.440 63.624 64.659 63.624 0.321
4 107 Finlay, Travis 2003 Subaru Wrx Blue 67.817 65.144+1 64.284 64.122 64.122 0.498
5 7 Willemin, John 2003 Subaru Impreza Wrx World Rally Blue 66.722 65.599 65.293 64.710 64.710 0.588
6 57 Mero, Matthew 1994 Bmw 325Is White 73.807+1 70.131 67.253 66.333 66.333 1.623
7 13 Hill, Barrett 2004 Subaru Wrx Silver 75.266+1 69.366 67.649 67.436 67.436 1.103
8 49 Bly, Vince 2003 Mini Cooper S Blue And Yellow 71.768+1 68.131 66.958+DNF 67.615 67.615 0.179
9 11 Liu, Edwin 2006 Tony Kart Krypton Cr125 Grn/Wht 73.035 68.914 67.913+1 70.264 68.914 1.299
10 46 Neal, Doug 2005 Subaru Wrx White 78.284+DNF 72.037+DNF 70.171 69.087 69.087 0.173
11 9 Bernard, Charles 2002 Lexus Is300 Graphite Grey 76.992 71.294+DNF 70.509 69.622 69.622 0.535
12 31 Bell, Scott 2007 Vw Gti Red 72.676 72.950 70.234+DNF 70.462 70.462 0.840
13 44 Sibley, Fil 2007 Ford Mustang Blue 74.759 72.719 72.563+DNF 72.389+DNF 72.719 2.257


Pics:

Katie
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4123/4902783728_52d23e7c0d.jpg

Shawn
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4080/4902935376_6c51f43907.jpg

Chike
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4082/4902971844_6576215051.jpg

[Chiketkd]

Is the 2010 Virginia Autocross Championship being held at the ACU-4 lot in Norfolk, VA. Shawn and Katie will be co-driving with me again and I'm looking forward to seeing how my current set-up handles on concrete!!!

http://www.brr-scca.org/VCAC20101.jpg

[Chiketkd]

is looking fantastic for this weekend! 90F and sunny Saturday, 85F and cloudy Sunday.

http://www.subaru-svx.net/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=14502&stc=1&d=1282314366

I'm using this event as my 'nationals' this season. I'll have 3 drivers in my STX class that are very solid/fast:

-Dave Ogburn in the turbo mini (beat me by ~0.2 seconds at the CommonWealth Games)
-Shawn Roberts (my co-driver)
-Michael Kuhn in another RX-8 (has trophied at every National Tour he's entered this year)

Both Michael and Dave are going to run @ Nationals in ~2 weeks. So it will be interesting to see how I do against them and then get a rough estimate of where I stack up nationally from their performances at Solo Nationals.


Run Groups are also posted:

The run groups are as follows:
Heat 1: Ladies class, F125, FJA, STS, SM, SSM
Heat 2: All stock classes, all prepared classes
Heat 3: All street prepared classes, CM, BM
Heat 4: ST, STR, STX, STU, SMF

So Katie will be running 1st heat, while Shawn and I will run in the final heat.


Course maps are also up and shown below:

SATURDAY
http://www.tidewatersportscarclub.com/Course_Maps/VAC_2010_SAT.jpg


SUNDAY
http://www.tidewatersportscarclub.com/Course_Maps/VAC_2010_SUN.jpg

[Chiketkd]

With the forecast looking favorable for the weekend, I went into this event with high hopes of doing well.

SATURDAY
Katie ran in the first heat in upper 70's/low 80's weather and I used her runs to make some fine tuning adjustments to the car. I stiffened up the front shocks by one click, pretty much left everything else alone. Katie was dropping time on each run and turned a respectable 59.128 on her final run to put her 3rd in the very competitive Ladies class (National Champ Denise Kugler was 1st, National trophy winner Donna Marx was 2nd).

The STX open class ran in the 4th and final heat of the day with temps in the upper 80's. As Shawn and I were co-driving, he was one of the first cars out on course from our class and crossed the finish with a scorching time of 58.0 clean. I turned a clean 58.5 to hold second, Michael Kuhn had a 59.0. Dave Ogburn was in the fourth and final trophy spot with a 60.3 (but I think he mentioned he had a big mistake on that run).

After the next 2 runs, Shawn was still standing on his 1st run (had a 58.1 and a slightly slower 58.0), while I had dropped my time down to a clean 58.2 (had a dirty 58.1+1). Michael was down to a 58.5 (had a dirty 58.1+1), while Dave was now down to a clean 59.0. With many in the class showing top of the class speed, we knew it would come down to 4th runs!

4th runs had the class on the edge of their seat. Shawn dropped the hammer and turned a clean 57.887! Michael turned a 58.560, and had to stand on his 2nd run which was s lightly faster 58.522. Dave Ogburn came in next with a 58.289 which moved him up to 3rd (just behind my 58.279 on my 2nd run). My 4th run felt solid, but I broke late for one section and pushed a little wide in a sweeper. However, I recovered well and still had plenty of corner exit speed. I tripped the lights with a 57.951 to stay in 2nd, just 0.064 behind Shawn!

'Street Touring X' - Total Entries: 9 Car Color Times Total
1T STX 90 Shawn Roberts 2006 Mazda RX-8 58.031 58.168 58.056 57.887 57.887 0.000
2T STX 190 Chike Dellimore 2006 Mazda RX-8 58.565 58.279 58.118+2 57.951 57.951 0.064
3T STX 178 Dave Ogburn 2009 Mini JCW Hardtop 60.341 59.432 59.037 58.289 58.289 0.338
4T STX 169 Michael Kuhn 2004 Mazda RX-8 59.024 58.522 58.185+1 58.560 58.522 0.233
5 STX 64 Keith Kasmire 1997 BMW 328is 61.363 60.407 59.565 59.095 59.095 0.573
6T STX 47 Jim Herley 1986 BMW 325e 60.847 59.949 60.725 61.231 59.949 0.854
7 STX 58 Michael Schnekser 2006 Mini Cooper S 60.854 61.002 60.584+1 60.972 60.854 0.905
8 STX 31 Cameron Mccormick 2009 Mini Cooper S Clubman 61.889 61.499 60.992 61.022 60.992 0.138
9 STX 78 David Ogburn 2009 MINI JCW 63.419+1 62.099 61.515 61.107 61.107 0.115


SUNDAY
And then it rained! :(

Heats were swapped from the day before, so STX had to run 1st in the driving rain. FWD tends to do much better in the wet than RWD (as it's impossible to get power-on sanp oversteer...not that I know anything about that! :lol:).

Shawn and I made the best of what we had. I softened the front shocks by 2 clicks, the rears by 1 click. I also dropped starting tire pressures to 35F/32R. However, with my Hankooks worn down to 2-3/32nds of tread, we knew they would be "sketchy" in any kind of standing water on course!

Dave Ogburn was unstoppable in the wet in his FWD turbo mini, turning a 58.497. Michael Kuhn on the Star Specs turned a respectable 58.737, while Shawn had a 58.998. I was in fourth, with a 59.808.

Katie ran in the 4th heat of the dry on a dry course and finished the weekend 3rd in the class!

'Street Touring X' - Total Entries: 9 Car Color Times Total
1T STX 178 Dave Ogburn 2009 Mini JCW Hardtop 60.601 59.808 59.161 58.497 58.497 0.000
2T STX 169 Michael Kuhn 2004 Mazda RX-8 61.981 60.247 59.674 58.737 58.737 0.240
3T STX 90 Shawn Roberts 2006 Mazda RX-8 61.308 60.721 60.037 58.998 58.998 0.261
4T STX 190 Chike Dellimore 2006 Mazda RX-8 62.064 63.747+OFF 59.953+1 59.808 59.808 0.810
5 STX 47 Jim Herley 1986 BMW 325e 65.260 63.112 62.613+1 61.040 61.040 1.232
6 STX 78 David Ogburn 2009 MINI JCW 62.392 61.792 60.443+2 61.792 0.752
7 STX 64 Keith Kasmire 1997 BMW 328is 64.229 63.786 63.945 62.536 62.536 0.744
8 STX 31 Cameron Mccormick 2009 Mini Cooper S Clubman 65.086 65.073+1 64.244 62.650 62.650 0.114
9 STX 58 Michael Schnekser 2006 Mini Cooper S 66.444 65.387 63.994 64.124 63.994 1.344



Overall 2-Day Results were as follows:

'Street Touring X' Total Entries: 9
1T 178 Dave Ogburn 2009 Mini JCW Hardtop 58.289 48.379 58.497 48.552 116.786 [-]0.099 -
2T 90 Shawn Roberts 2006 Mazda RX-8 57.887 48.046 58.998 48.968 116.885 0.099 0.099
3T 169 Michael Kuhn 2004 Mazda RX-8 58.522 48.573 58.737 48.751 117.259 0.374 0.473
4T 190 Chike Dellimore 2006 Mazda RX-8 57.951 48.099 59.808 49.640 117.759 0.500 0.973
5 47 Jim Herley 1986 BMW 325e 59.949 49.757 61.040 50.663 120.989 3.230 4.203
6 64 Keith Kasmire 1997 BMW 328is 59.095 49.048 62.536 51.904 121.631 0.642 4.845
7 78 David Ogburn 2009 MINI JCW 61.107 50.718 61.792 51.287 122.899 1.268 6.113
8 31 Cameron Mccormick 2009 Mini Cooper S Clubman 60.992 50.623 62.650 51.999 123.642 0.743 6.856
9 58 Michael Schnekser 2006 Mini Cooper S 60.854 50.508 63.994 53.115 124.848 1.206 8.062


Summary:
4th out of 9 in class
24th out of 119 in PAX (2 day PAX)


Pics:
Dave
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4117/4931276002_de5f850ae6_z.jpg

Shawn
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4080/4928887281_868b630c9e_z.jpg

Michael
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4081/4932549738_1a073b2113_z.jpg

Chike
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4143/4928882029_6d26028949_z.jpg

Katie
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4138/4931957993_0fac4aa914_z.jpg

[Chiketkd]

This past weekend, I competed in the 8th and final points event with my local Blue Ridge Region.

Since I hadn't autocrossed in ~4 weeks, I felt kinda rusty out there and it showed on my first run that I dnf'd -- cold tires and some over-zealous use of the throttle are to blame! :p Settled down and put in a solid 2nd run time of 55.7 (which would have been enough to have won the class for the day). Dropped 0.4 seconds on my 3rd run and then another 0.4 seconds on my final run to finish with a quick time of 54.9. I finished 2nd in PAX overall for the event which had 115 people in attendance.

Summary:
1st out of 3 in class
2nd out of 115 in PAX

STX - Street Touring X Pax: 0.830
1t CHIKE DELLIMORE 2006 MAZDA RX-8 54.950 45.609 0.445
2 DAN KIMBER 1991 HONDA CIVIC SI 56.120 1.170 46.580 1.416
3 BRIAN OETERS 2005 FORD MUSTANG 61.060 6.110 50.680 5.516

Link: http://www.brr-scca.org/Results/20100919.htm

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4085/5006980688_26a2ffdea7_z.jpg

P.S. With this win, I captured the STX class championship for the 2010 season with my BRR-SCCA region! :cool:

[Chiketkd]

This past Sunday, I competed in the 7th in final points event with my WDCR region at Fedex Stadium. Coming into this event, the season standings were as follows:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4075/4929445969_fbc3fd8b4e_z.jpg

Mathematically, I was out of the running for the season championship, and if Travis won the final event and I finished 3rd or lower, he would move up into the 2nd spot. To make matters a little worse for me, the forecast called for high temps in the mid 60's, but STX would run in the 2nd morning heat when temps would still be cool. I needed a co-driver/tire warmer.

I talked to my friend Shawn about co-driving, but he wanted to run his miata, so his wife Katie (who had already wrapped up the ladies class season championship), would do my tire-warming duties! :)

I came into this event with the mind-set of having to drive at my very best. John and Travis are always fast in his WRX, and many regard the car to be the best prepped WRX currently competing in STX in the entire US.

After 1st runs, I was leading the class with a 52.7 with Travis just 4/100ths of a second behind. John had as DNF. After 2nd runs, Travis took the lead with a 52.4. I was still in 2nd but standing on my 1st run as I went slightly slower with a 52.9 after being a little too aggressive in the two main showcase turns on course. John ran a clean 52.9, while Katie moved into 5th place in class with a 57.0!

3rd runs came and Travis picked up his pace and turned a 52.0. However, I came in immediately after him with a 52.0 time that was 3/100ths faster! John had a dnf, while Katie solidified her 5th position with a faster 55.6.

Final run time! Katie dropped her time to a 54.8 to finish 5th, behind Barrett Hill who was 4th with a 53.9 in his WRX. John had another dnf and had to stand on his 52.9 from earlier and finished 3rd. Travis turned a 52.4 and had to stand on his 52.0 from earlier. I was on course directly behind Travis and had to assume he was going to go faster. I absolutely hammered the course but was sure to give up speed in the showcase turns in order to not push wide. Came screaming into the finish and my efforts were rewarded with a time of 50.995! So I took the win in the final event of the season by just over 1 secpnd!!! :cool:

Summary:
1st out of 12 in class
27th out of 190 in PAX

Street Touring X
Pos # Driver Car Run1 Run2 Run3 Run4 Total Diff
1T 190 Dellimore, Chike 2006 Mazda Rx-8 Grey 52.724 52.924 52.019 50.995 50.995 0
2T 107 Finlay, Travis 2003 Subaru Wrx Blue 52.762 52.475 52.049 52.440 52.049 1.054
3T 7 Willemin, John 2003 Subaru Impreza Wrx World Rally Blue 53.865+DNF 52.940 60.635+DNF 54.103+1 52.940 0.891
4 13 Hill, Barrett 2004 Subaru Wrx Silver 55.376 54.288 61.157+DNF 53.942 53.942 1.002
5 90 Orgler, Katie 2006 Grey Mazda RX-8 65.141 57.070 55.652 54.885 54.885 0.943
6 32 Salisbury, Steve 2004 WRX Blubaru 55.270+DNF 57.171 58.226+1 56.458 56.458 1.573
7 9 Bernard, Charles 2002 Lexus Is300 Graphite Grey 66.946 58.689+1 59.141+DNF 56.995 56.995 0.537
8 44 Sibley, Fil 2007 Ford Mustang Blue 60.693+DNF 56.997 57.179 57.353 56.997 0.002
9 99 Bauersfeld, Carl 2006 Mini S Astro Black 71.171+DNF 59.568 58.537 57.109 57.109 0.112
10 31 Bell, Scott 2007 Vw Gti Red 59.965 59.882+DNF 57.859+1 57.187 57.187 0.078
11 57 Mero, Matthew 2005 BMW 330i 59.558+1 57.810+1 57.805 58.904+DNF 57.805 0.618
12 46 Neal, Doug 2005 Subaru Wrx White 77.582+DNF DNS DNS DNS 67.805 10.000

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4145/5052686763_263a91112a_z.jpg

P.S. So with this win, the final season points standings for STX (top 3) are:

1st -- John -- 54 points
2nd -- Chike -- 51 points
3rd -- Travis -- 44 points

[Chiketkd]

Now that my 2010 season points events are over, I have another 3-4 events planned where I'll be driving different cars (to keep things interesting).

This weekend I'll be at the Blue Ridge vs VMSC challenge at VMP in Petersburg, VA driving Gary's STU E36 M3 on AST coilovers and Dunlop Star Specs:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4146/5006017535_9460828197_z.jpg

There's also a good chance I'll co-drive with Gary again at the final BRR charity/fun-event of the season on the last weekend of October.

At the Pumpkin Carver event in Cumberland on October 23rd, I have an offer to co-drive Shawn's G-stock '03 Mazdaspeed Protege:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4090/5054367827_883e0bb02d_z.jpg

There's also a chance I'll be doing a RallyX in November co-driving Shawn's M2 RX-7:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_D_WmFf7Gbkk/S_CPWw5FMcI/AAAAAAAAAXQ/fbQ2Zs-a7iU/s640/RallyX-7-First%20event%20029.jpg

I'll update this thread with pics and my thoughts if/when these final co-drives occur! Now the real fun starts!!!! :cool:

[Myxalplyx]

I honestly haven't been following this thread fully but just wanted to give you a congrats for your win. That is awesome! Must be a great feeling. ;)

[Chiketkd]

I honestly haven't been following this thread fully but just wanted to give you a congrats for your win. That is awesome! Must be a great feeling. ;)
Thanks Kevin.

In all honesty, it's been my most rewarding season ever. I had three goals at the start of this year:

#1 Win my class with the Blue Ridge Region
#2 Win my class with the DC region
#3 Finish in the top 3 at the North East Divisional

I accomplished #1, exceeded my expectations with #3 by becoming the Divisional champion...so not accomplishing #2 and finishing 2nd in the class for the season is an easy pill to swallow.

[Chiketkd]

Yesterday was my local SCCA club's annual autocross challenge with the VMSC club out of Richmond. The event this year was held at the Virginia Motorsports Park in Petersburg, VA.

I drove Gary's '97 M3 sedan set-up for STU. His car is still on the stock exhaust, intake, stock ecu, etc, but is on AST coilovers along with lightweight 17x9" wheels and 255 Star Specs.

The course was extremely long and technical. A few parts were fast and rewarded a driver who could keep a car on the ragged edge, while some other parts were slower and more technical. Never got "the run" put together, but I started feeling more comfortable with the car after my 2nd run. I turned my fastest time of 77.501 on my 3rd run, which put me 2nd in class and just over 1/10th of a second ahead of Gary's best run (77.684).


Summary:
2nd out of 5 in class
5th out of 70 in PAX

Results - STU
1T STU 481 David Wampler 06 Subaru STI Gray 79.055+2 79.154 77.739 76.747 76.752 76.747
2T STU 70 Chike Dellimore 97 BMW M3 Blue 79.921+1 77.684+1 77.501 77.777+2 77.864+1 77.501
3 STU 7 Gary Krichbaum 97 BMW M3 Blue 79.507 77.929 78.233 77.847 77.685 77.685
4 STU 52 Bryan Myer 03 Mitsubishi Evolution Yellow 87.007 82.921 82.524+1 88.884+OFF 81.025 81.025
5 STU 99 Fred Gray 03 Mitsubishi Evolution VIII Yellow 87.467 88.610+OFF 84.630 82.768 81.551+1 82.768

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4112/5070549572_0ece0a0a8a_z.jpg

[Chiketkd]

This past Saturday, I traveled to Cumberland airport to compete on Day 1 of the 2010 Pumpkin Carve event held each year by the National Road Rally club.

I drove Shawn's 2003 Mazdaspeed Protege that's set-up for G-stock. His car was on 3 year old V710's, but we were using the event to gauge the competitiveness of the car and whether we should run it next season.

Saturday's course was quite technical with a few sections that punished you if you came in too hot or didn't run a line that allowed you to open up the corner. A few parts were very fast and I found the MSP easy to drive at the limit even though this was my first time in the car. Never had a perfect run, but got something decent and clean on my 4th try and won my class by just over 4 seconds.


Summary:
1st out of 5 in class
8th out of 102 in PAX

'G Stock' - Total Entries: 5 Times Total
1 GS Chike Dellimore 03 Mazda Protégé 62.075+2 60.600+3 59.182+2 57.743 57.798+1 57.743 [-]
2 GS Jim Shultz 03 Audi A4 63.677 61.758 62.511 62.156 61.091+2 61.758 [4.015]
3 GS Darrel Imhoff 08 Civic Si Mugen 67.268+1 64.388+1 64.525 65.720+1 64.087 64.087 [2.329]
4 GS Ted Cumberland 93 Ford 70.961 65.869 66.780 64.654 64.125 64.125 [0.038]
5 GS Jacqueline Frostburg 09 Audi A3 71.964+1 69.586 67.337 67.303 65.596 65.596 [1.471]


I've come across no actions pics of the MSP on course, but here's a pic of the DC group talking next to the MSP in the parking lot! :)

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1167/5126037061_6a5d9d1de4_z.jpg

Left to right: Shawn, Brian, myself and Katie

[Chiketkd]

This past Saturday was the final BRR event of the 2010 season. It was a non-points event and was labeled the Zoom-Zoom Challenge as there would be a separate PAX challenge between Mazda drivers and all other makes.

Gary asked me to co-drive his M3 to assist him in fine tuning his set-up and as this was a non-points event, I was happy to oblige. His set-up was similar to what we ran in Richmond, VA except that he lowered the front of the car another 1/2".

The course was tight & technical in a few areas and fast & flowing in others. All in all it was a good balance for the big horsepower and the light and nimble cars. Gary had three drivers in his car, and Jeff Glass ran the car in the 3rd heat while Gary and I drove it in the 4th. Jeff turned a 70.4 on his final run which was the top PAX for the event at the end of the 3rd heat. But then the 4th heat began... ;)

I was the 1st driver in Gary's car and due to leaving the event to attend my son's soccer game earlier, I hadn't had the chance to do a course walk. My first run was therefore cautious and I turned a 71.8 +1. Gary went out next for his 1st run and turned a scorching 70.1 clean to move into the top PAX spot! I turned a 70.7 +1 followed by a 70.4 +1 on my next two runs. By this time, Gary was down to a 69.505 clean and had a commanding lead in the class. Another top driver Justin Matthews turned a 69.7 clean in an STi to move into 2nd. I had my 4th and final run to get it done...

On my 4th and final run, I decided to attack the course throughout and not try to play it safe to run "clean". The first section was near perfect, 2nd section had a slight mistake when exiting a tight hairpin but I used the mis-step to carry some extra speed into the next element. It paid off and I went into the back slalom with more speed than ever before. I stayed clean through there, went through a lane-change element cleanly, ran a tight line around a sweeper, and then had just 2 more turns to navigate before the finish. I ran tight line by a critical cone and saw a course worker running... I kept my composure and brought her into the finish faster than ever before. A 69.2 came up on the board...but was it clean? I looked back and the course worker signaled that the cone was still in the box! :cool:

So lady-luck smiled on me this time! I took top PAX and ended up being 2ndFTD (2nd fastest time behind a F125 cart, but the fastest car with fenders).

Summary:
1st out of 8 in class
1st out of 73 in PAX

STU - Street Touring U Pax: 0.844
1t CHIKE DELLIMORE 1997 BMW M3 69.274 FTP 58.467 0.000
2t GARY KRICHBAUM 1997 BMW M3 69.505 0.231 58.662 0.195
3t JUSTIN MATHEWS STI 69.717 0.443 58.841 0.374
4 JEFFREY GLASS 1997 BMW M3 70.483 1.209 59.488 1.021
5 PETER TYSON 2005 SUBARU STI 71.219 1.945 60.109 1.642
6 KYLE COOKMEYER 1996 BMW M3 72.561 3.287 61.242 2.775
7 DAVID LONNQUEST 2005 SUBARU WRX STI 73.042 3.768 61.647 3.180
8 TOM HARRIS 1997 BMW M3 75.814 6.540 63.987 5.52

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4059/5144087267_63826478b6_z.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4084/5144097887_b95682af21_z.jpg

[Chiketkd]

So it doesn't look like it'll work out after all for me to attend the RallyX at Summit Point, so my 2010 season is now done.

Hopefully things will work out for me to co-drive Shawn's MSP in G-stock next season and to allow us to go back to Nationals in Lincoln, NE.